Prosecutor refuses to initiate criminal investigation over Tymoshenko’s allegations

   The Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka stated on Friday that the Kharkiv Prosecutor’s Office has rejected the application from imprisoned former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko for a criminal investigation into the beating she alleges she was subjected to, Pshonka asserts that there where three volumes of material in the Prosecutor’s check which he says were thoroughly studied by staff at the central department of the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Ms Tymoshenko said that she was ill-treated while being taken against her will to a Kharkiv hospital. She has shown bruises to her daughter, lawyers and to Nina Karpachova who was at the time outgoing Human Rights Ombudsperson.

The Prosecutor General’s statement says that Prosecutor’s Office staff checked the chronology of events on 20-22 April, with more than 80 people, being questioned.

He asserts that this showed that the hospital trip had been coordinated with Ms Tymoshenko in advance and that she had not made any complaints on arrival at the hospital. Later, he claims, she rejected medical treatment and said she wished to be taken back to Kachanivsky Prison Colony where she has been held since just before New Year.  She was taken back on 22 April.

There she asserted that she had been mistreated. Pshonka insists that she rejected three offers of a forensic medical examination.

He asserts that her account is not trustworthy.

There have been messages of concern from all over the world since Ms Tymoshenko’s allegations were learned.  There have been calls for a full and independent examination, and many EU officials and diplomats have sought permission to see Yulia Tymoshenko.  This has been turned down.

As a direct result, as of Friday 12 Presidents had announced that they would not be attending the Central and East European States’ Presidential Meeting in Yalta